A powerful Louisiana Baptist minister from Monroe Louisiana has lashed out at Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s education program due to the law’s voucher program which provides public money to help fund religious private schools, even schools that are not equipped for the students allocated.

Rev. C. Welton, speaking on the behalf of the Interfaith Alliance, a national, nonpartisan grassroots and educational organization based in Washington that has 185,000 members nationwide made up of 75 faith traditions as well as those of no faith tradition sent a letter to Jindal.

The opposition to the voucher plan which has been heavily criticized for paying students to attend schools that teach creationism is particularly striking since Welton is a minister from Jindal’s own state.

Here are excerpts from the letter:

Your school voucher scheme is bad for religious freedom and bad for public education as well as a blatant attack on the religious freedom clauses in the United States Constitution.

Thankfully, thoughtful educators, concerned citizens, and media representatives in the state are exposing your ruthless attack on public education — the provision that the founders of our nation considered essential to the survival of our democracy. You seem unable to distinguish between religious indoctrination and basic public education.

Of course, you flaunted your disregard for government-subsidized religion by choosing a Roman Catholic Church as the venue at which to sign your legislation!

Let me be clear: I am not appalled that a Christian school is teaching its students that God created the Earth. Children in my church learn that every Sunday. I am appalled that these schools are teaching theology as science; and they’re doing so with government money, my tax dollars. Teaching the theology of Creationism is part of the mission of religious schools, and religious education more broadly—I defend with my life’s work their right to teach future generations about their faith. But they should not receive financial support from our government to do so.

Jindal has touted his education law nationally which he stridently promoted through the legislature this spring while speaking in front of various audiences and in the national media.

Jindal has been named by the media as a top candidate for Vitt Romney’s Vice President pick.

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